Omnichannel

UK retailer Boden taps First Insight tech to improve merchandising decisions

Photo: Adobe Stock

March 7, 2025

Boden, a U.K.-based online apparel retailer, is deploying First Insight's AI-powered decision intelligence to integrate real-time consumer demand signals into merchandising, product and pricing strategies.

The goal is to better understand customers and ensure design, pricing and inventory decision making aligned with what customers want and not based purely on past sales data, according to a press release.

Boden is leveraging First Insight's predictive analytics and proprietary Value Score across womenswear, swimwear, accessories and childrenswear to enhance product-market fit, optimize assortments and maximize sales and margins.

The retailer is embracing AI-driven consumer intelligence to:

Deepen customer understanding to anticipate shifts in preferences, improve product-market fit, and strengthen loyalty.
Identify top-performing products before launch and scale winning designs faster.
Refine pricing strategies based on consumer demand signals to maximize margins and reduce markdown risk.
Align buy depths with real-time consumer preferences to ensure the right products are stocked at the right levels.

"Boden has always been about delivering fashion our customers love — bold, joyful designs that make them feel great," Katherine Danneberg Mattey, chief commercial officer of Boden, said in the release. "But getting it right every time isn't easy. First Insight's AI helps us truly think like our customers, ensuring every product, every price and every decision aligns with what they really want. This partnership is helping us move faster, bet bigger on winners and stay true to what makes Boden special."

By leveraging AI-powered predictive intelligence, Boden's is aiming for a 25% sales increase without increasing production volumes.

Boden was founded in 1991 by Johnnie Boden and has grown from a small catalog business into a global digital-first retailer, serving over 1.7 million customers worldwide, with headquarters in London and distribution centers in the U.K. and U.S.